Poudre Valley REA seeking site for 500,000-watt solar 'panel farm'

Raising a regional solar energy stake nearly five-fold, the Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association and Carbondale partner Clean Energy Collective plans a 500,000-watt solar farm, with shares available to subscribers in the form of individual panels.

The proposed solar array, at a site still to be determined, builds on the startling success of PVREA's first project, one that sold out before it even broke ground at its site adjacent to the utility's Windsor headquarters.

Looking for Land

Installation of a 500,000-watt solar plant will require about 4 acres of land.

Partners in the Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association project have no idea where that might be, other than it must lie within the association's North Front Range service area and be adjacent to REA distribution lines.

Landowners who think they have a tract that fits the bill can call the Clean Energy Collective at 800-646-0323 or visit easycleanenergy.com.

The new solar farm will generate 500,000 watts of power, nearly five times that produced by the existing 116,000-watt pilot farm that opened late last year.

That's enough juice to supply about 900 homes over the course of a year -- not a vast amount in terms of the region's total energy consumption, but a difference-maker to shareholders.

"They had an overwhelming response to the first project," Clean Energy Collective CEO Paul Spencer said. "We're hoping there's some of that demand left. We think there will be."

Long-term Prospect

The collective's business is built one panel at a time, not one home installation at a time, as is the model for most solar energy providers.

Subscribers, who must be rural electric association members, can buy individual panels for $729. For that, they receive monthly credits on their electric bills for their shares of the energy generated by the plant.

"It really is a long-term investment," PVREA assistant CEO Jeff Wadsworth said. "It may not be for everyone, but it's attractive for some people."

The payback period, the time required for credits to accumulate to equal the investment, is estimated at about 14 years.

Because a solar farm is developed on a single site chosen for optimal solar power generation, shareholders need not have a home in an ideal location. In fact, they don't need to own a home at all. Renters, and businesses that lease property, also benefit from share ownership.

Spencer, whose solar-powered home is off the grid, said centralized solar power generation offers advantages in efficiency and durability that "hobby" solar installations can't match.

Lowering Entry Bar

"I have panels on my home, but those panels are not operating the way they do at a plant," he said. "They're not continuously maintained, and they won't last as long. We need long-term clean energy sources."

The per-panel price tag also offers a solar entry to homeowners, renters and businesses that might otherwise be out of reach, Spencer said.

For example, home solar systems require initial purchase of a solar inverter that converts solar radiation to usable energy, a piece of equipment that typically costs about $4,000.

"You need that $4,000 inverter whether you have four panels or 24 panels," Spencer said. "From an accessibility standpoint, we can parse it down to one-panel increments. We've reduced the barrier about 20-fold."

The Clean Energy Collective has contracts with Asian and European panel producers that have demonstrated staying power in the market.

"We're looking to maintain these systems for 50 years," Spencer said. "When we get the installation done, our job is just starting."

After site selection and project permitting, construction and connection would take about 45 days, he said.

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